H.R. 3289. Fiscal 2004 Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan/Vote to Recommit to Committee a $87.5 Billion Conference Report for Supplemental Spending on Military and Reconstruction Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan

One of the few procedural prerogatives available to minority party members in the House is the motion to recommit. If successful, the motion recommits a bill to committee and is usually accompanied by instructions to amend the legislation in a particular fashion. On this vote, Congressman Obey (D-WI) motioned to recommit to committee the conference report on President Bush's $87 billion supplemental spending request to Congress for expenditures associated with military and reconstruction activities in Iraq and Afghanistan. (If the House and Senate adopt legislation in different forms, a conference committee is convened to reconcile differences between the two versions of the bill; a conference report is the product of those negotiations.) Obey's motion included committee instructions to transform half of Iraq's reconstruction budget from a grant to a loan (unlike a grant, the recipient of a loan must repay the money). Progressives voted in support of Obey's motion because, in their view, U.S. taxpayers were shouldering too heavy a burden for military and reconstruction operations in Iraq. In their view, President Bush's "go-it-alone" strategy had needlessly alienated potential allies who would have been inclined to help the U.S.-either financially or militarily or both-during both the Iraqi conflict and the post-war reconstruction. Conservatives opposed the motion to recommit and argued that with no Iraqi government in place, a loan would be meaningless because no institution could be held responsible for its repayment. On a vote of 198-221, Obey's motion was rejected and the conference report on the $87 supplemental spending bill was allowed to proceed to a final vote.